Manchester City have delivered a silent riposte to Fergie’s jibe about their youth policy – by being picked as one of the nation’s new elite of football academies.

Manchester City have delivered a silent riposte to Fergie’s jibe about their youth policy – by being picked as one of the nation’s new elite of football academies.

The United boss, still stinging from the Blues’ dramatic Premier League title victory, suggested in May that City were throwing money at their first team while the Reds are investing in youth.

But City’s academy has been granted Category One status under the Premier League’s new Elite Players’ Performance Plan (EPPP), which is aimed at getting clubs to increase the number and quality of home-grown players coming through the ranks.

Fergie said, on the day after Sergio Aguero’s goal clinched the crown: “We know City are going to spend fortunes, pay stupid money and silly salaries. We know that happens. We can’t do anything about that.

“We are not like other clubs who can spend fortunes on proven goods.

“We invest in players who will be with the club for a long time, who will create the character of the club and the excitement for our fans.

“We are good at that and we are going to continue that way.”

City’s academy head Mark Allen did not want to get into an argument with Fergie, but defended his club’s record on investment in youth, which has paid dividends in the top grading.

“It’s where you are in your cycle,” said Allen. “It was clear that we went on an accelerated plan to bring players in and bring success to the first team.

“That has paid off in terms of delivering the Premier League title last year, but we are, and always will be, committed to youth football at this club, and that is evident from the new academy that will be built.

“There is a very firm commitment. There is definitely investment at youth level, in terms of facilities and staff, and resource generally.”

At the heart of that investment is the new £100million training facility across the road from the ground, which will include its own 7,000-capacity stadium specifically for the junior teams.

The Category One grading allows City to scour the country for the best young footballers, from 15 year-olds upwards this season and extended to 12-year-olds upwards next season.

Until now, like every other club, they could only take boys from 12 to 16 who live within 90 minutes’ journey of the stadium.

There have been 23 clubs applying for Category One status, and with the process ongoing, City are one of eight clubs confirmed in the top bracket, along with Fulham, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland, West Ham and Wolves. Newcastle are one notable club to have failed to hit the standard.

The top grading will give City extra funding, and will also let them increase the amount of coaching time they can give to youngsters, in line with clubs like Barcelona and Ajax, who have distinguished track records for bringing young players through the ranks.

Another facet of the new system is the introduction of an Under-21 league which will begin in earnest in 2013-14, but which begins as a prototype league next month.

The Blues’ new Under-21 team have been grouped with Wolves, Fulham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Liverpool for the inaugural competition, and will kick-off away to Chelsea on Friday, August 17.

Roberto Mancini has been demanding an improvement in the amount and quality of players coming through the ranks at City, and has drastically increased the number of youngsters given a debut.

Since the takeover four years ago, not one player has established themselves as a first-team player, and Mancini wants that to change.

He believes implicitly in giving talented youth its head – he became a Serie A regular with Bologna at the age of 16, and threw the 17-year-old Mario Balotelli into the heat of the title fray when he was manager at Inter Milan.

He has stepped up the first-team involvement of talented youngsters like Karim Rekik and Denis Suarez. He also took promising 16-year-old Portuguese midfielder Marcos Lopes and 17-year-old Cheadle-born George Evans to Austria for the pre-season training camp and to the Far East for the tour.

Says Allen: “The manager is more than happy to blood young players if he feels it’s right for them and they are ready for it. He has a track record here of giving young players time, and Marcos and George are the latest recipients of that.

“Ultimately it is the manager’s call in terms of where he sees them. From the comments we have got back, they are certainly not out of place in that environment, but we have to recognise that they are 16 and 17 and it is a huge learning curve.

“The players themselves realise that and are very grounded – they are not getting carried away. To all intents and purposes, they around that environment because they can cope.

“I don’t like putting pressure on them because it is unfair. They are 16 and 17, and this is the Premier League champions – but it has put them on the map in terms of the manager recognising there is talent coming through from the younger ages.

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